Infineon Technologies Ag

Infineon Technologies Dresden Gmbh

Capital One Services, LLC

Bernhard Winkler

Thoralf Kautzsch

Mirko Vogt

Maik Stegemann

Heiko Froehlich

Horst Theuss

Florian Schoen

Robert Gruenberger

Andre Roeth

Stefan Kolb

Werner Weber

Steffen Bieselt

Boris Binder

Florian Brandl

Wolfgang Raberg

Klemens Pruegl

Mohsin Nawaz

Constantin Crisu

Joachim Mahler

Khalil Hosseini

Rainer Leuschner

Manfred Mengel

Dirk Meinhold

Franz-Peter Kalz

Roland Meier

Victor Popescu-Stroe

Dan-Ioan-Dumitru Stoica

Dirk Hammerschmidt

Christian Geissler

Christian Pacha

Reinhard Mahnkopf

Martin Zgaga

Alessia Scire

Raimund Foerg

Cesare Buffa

Markus Eckinger

Claus Waechter

Thomas Popp

Karlheinz Mueller

Sokratis Sgouridis

Bernd Foeste

Karl-Heinz Mueller

Andreas Behrendt

Andreas Zankl

Kai-Alexander Schreiber

Ben Rosam

Andre Röth

Andreas Thamm

Juergen Zimmer

Mathias Vaupel

Erhard Landgraf

Joachim Wecker

Wolfram Langheinrich

Ivo Rangelow

Emanuel Stoicescu

Stephan Schmitt

Manfred Ruehrig

Alessandro Caspani

Athanasios Kollias

Matthias Boehm

Vladislav Komenko

Andrey Kravchenko

Mihai-Liviu Tudose

Stefan Jahn

Janis Weidenauer

Heiko Fröhlich

Sebastian Luber

Hans-Olof Blom

Johan Bjurstroem

Florian Schön

Eckard Quandt

Uwe Fakesch

A pressure sensor is provided. The pressure sensor includes a magnetic sensor element configured to generate a signal based on a magnetic field sensed by the magnetic sensor element; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) structure including a membrane configured to move, depending on a pressure applied thereto, relative to the magnetic sensor element; and a field influencing element configured to modify the magnetic field based on a movement of the membrane, wherein the field influencing element is arranged on the membrane.

Pressure sensors and method for forming a MEMS pressure sensor

A capacitive microelectromechanical device is provided. The capacitive microelectromechanical device includes a semiconductor substrate, a support structure, an electrode element, a spring element, and a seismic mass. The support structure, for example, a pole, suspension or a post, is fixedly connected to the semiconductor substrate, which may comprise silicon. The electrode element is fixedly connected to the support structure. Moreover, the seismic mass is connected over the spring element to the support structure so that the seismic mass is displaceable, deflectable or movable with respect to the electrode element. Moreover, the seismic mass and the electrode element form a capacitor having a capacitance which depends on a displacement between the seismic mass and the electrode element.

Capacitive microelectromechanical device and method for forming a capacitive microelectromechanical device

A capacitive sensor includes a first conductive structure; a second conductive structure that is counter to the first conductive structure, wherein the second conductive structure is movable relative to the first conductive structure in response to an external force acting thereon, wherein the second conductive structure is capacitively coupled to the first conductive structure to form a first capacitor having a first capacitance that changes with a change in a distance between the first conductive structure and second conductive structure; a signal generator configured to apply a first electrical signal step at an input or at an output of the first capacitor to induce a first voltage transient response at the output of first capacitor; and a diagnostic circuit configured to detect a fault in the capacitive sensor by measuring a first time constant of the first voltage transient response and detecting the fault based on the first time constant.

Detecting capacitive faults and sensitivity faults in capacitive sensors

A capacitive sensor includes a first electrode structure; a second electrode structure that is counter to the first electrode structure, wherein the second electrode structure is movable relative to the first electrode structure and is capacitively coupled to the first electrode structure to form a capacitor having a capacitance that changes with a change in a distance between the first electrode structure and second electrode structure; a signal generator configured to apply an electrical signal at an input or at an output of the capacitor to induce a voltage transient response at the output of capacitor; and a diagnostic circuit configured to detect a fault in the capacitive sensor by measuring a time constant of the first voltage transient response and detecting the fault based on the time constant and based on whether the first electrical signal is the pull-in signal or the non-pull-in signal.

Detecting sensitivity faults in capacitive sensors by using pull-in functionality

Pressure sensors include stacking of sensor capacitors on top of reference capacitors. A pressure cavity may be extended below a bottom electrode. The pressure sensors may include a mechanical link of a top membrane with the bottom electrode in order to form a dual membrane, or a mechanical link of the top membrane, the bottom electrode and an intermediate electrode within a cavity. A pressure sensor includes a first and second pressure sensing portions, each including a first and second rigid electrodes, and a deflectable membrane structure. The second rigid electrode is between the first rigid electrode and the deflectable membrane structure arranged in a vertical configuration. The first and second rigid electrodes of the first and second pressure sensing portions form respective reference capacitors, and the second rigid electrodes and the deflectable membrane structures form respective sensing capacitors.

Fully differential capacitive pressure sensor including stacked sensor and reference capacitors

A capacitive sensor includes a first conductive structure; a second conductive structure movable relative to the first conductive structure in response to an external force acting thereon, wherein the first and the second conductive structures form a first capacitor having a first capacitance that changes with a change in a distance between the first conductive structure and second conductive structure, wherein the first capacitance is representative of the external force; and a diagnostic circuit configured to detect a first leakage current in the capacitive sensor by measuring an first electrical parameter that is affected by the first leakage current and comparing the measured first electrical parameter to a first predetermined error threshold, wherein the diagnostic circuit is further configured to generate a first error signal in response to the measured first electrical parameter being greater than the first predetermined error threshold.

Diagnosis of electrical failures in capacitive sensors

Examples provide for an apparatus, method, and computer program for comparing the output of sensor cells in an arrangement of sensor cells in an area A, including a set of at least two measurement units. A measurement unit includes at least two sensor cells, wherein at least one sensor cell of at least one measurement unit includes a sensitive sensor cell, which is sensitive with respect to a measured quantity. The sensor cells are intermixed with each other. The apparatus further includes means for selecting output signals of sensor cells of the arrangement and means for determining a measured quantity or determining an intact sensor cell by comparing output signals of different measurement units.

Apparatus, method, and computer program for comparing the output of sensor cells

A semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first surface and a second surface arranged opposite to the first surface; a stress-sensitive sensor disposed at the first surface of the substrate, where the stress-sensitive sensor is sensitive to mechanical stress; a stress-decoupling trench that has a vertical extension that extends from the first surface into the substrate, where the stress-decoupling trench vertically extends partially into the substrate towards the second surface although not completely to the second surface; and a plurality of particle filter trenches that vertically extend from the second surface into the substrate, wherein each of the plurality of particle filter trenches have a longitudinal extension that extends orthogonal to the vertical extension of the stress-decoupling trench.

Integration of stress decoupling and particle filter on a single wafer or in combination with a waferlevel package

A method for manufacturing a pressure sensitive transistor includes forming a channel region between first and second contact regions in a semiconductor substrate, forming a first isolation layer on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, forming a sacrificial structure on the first isolation layer and above the channel region, forming a semiconductor layer on the sacrificial structure and on the first isolation layer, wherein the semiconductor layer covers the sacrificial structure, removing the sacrificial structure for providing a cavity between the substrate and the semiconductor layer, wherein the semiconductor layer forms a membrane structure and forms a control electrode of the pressure sensitive transistor, forming a second isolation layer on the membrane structure and on the exposed portion of the surface of the semiconductor substrate, and forming contacting structures for the first contact region, the second contact region and the membrane structure of the pressure sensitive transistor.

Method for manufacturing a pressure sensitive field effect transistor including a membrane structure

Embodiments relate to sensor and sensing devices, systems and methods. In an embodiment, a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) device comprises at least one sensor element; a framing element disposed around the at least one sensor element; at least one port defined by the framing element, the at least one port configured to expose at least a portion of the at least one sensor element to an ambient environment; and a thin layer disposed in the at least one port.

MEMS sensor package systems and methods

A pressure sensor is provided. The pressure sensor includes at least two electrodes and an integrated circuit configured to sense a capacitance between the at least two electrodes. Further, the pressure sensor includes a Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) structure including a conductive or dielectric membrane configured to move, depending on the pressure, relative to the at least two electrodes.

A semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor chip including a substrate having a first surface and a second surface arranged opposite to the first surface; at least one stress-decoupling trench that extends from the first surface into the substrate, where the at least one stress-decoupling trench extends partially into the substrate towards the second surface although not completely to the second surface; a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) element, including a sensitive area, disposed at the first surface of the substrate and laterally spaced from the at least one stress-decoupling trench; and a stress-decoupling material that fills the at least one stress-decoupling trench and covers the sensitive area of the MEMS element.

Mechanical stress decoupling for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) elements with gel-filling

Growing community of inventors

Wuppertal, Germany

Bernhard Winkler